‘END OF THE BEGINNING’
The Willows come into their own
Something about great vocal harmonies resonates with the human spirit, young or old.
For the proof look no further than an Edmonton-raised trio, The Willows, who only came to discover their true calling as singers after a move to Toronto.
The trio — Krista Deady, Lauren Pedersen and Andrea Gregorio — heads home to perform here Thursday on their first national tour, marking the release of their first album of all-original tunes Tea For Three. It’s the group’s strongest stake yet in chiselling out a sonic identity, a pop-jazz framework geared to satisfying a wider audience.
“Some of our audience will always identify with that nostalgic retro sound of older groups like The Andrews Sisters,” Deady admits, “but there’s another side that can relate to us as three women from 2017 who are doing more than just covering songs.”
“Our music connects to different generations,” Gregorio agrees, “starting with an older demographic who are familiar with some of this music from their upbringing. But we’ve also got a much younger connection. Even if the music doesn’t hit them in the same way as an older fan base, the fact that it’s bright and positive and lively seems to win them over.”
“We’ve also performed at venues that allow dancing,” explains Pedersen, “so it hits multiple generations in that way. And we’ve been careful to watch what appeals to younger people, like the trend to buy albums on vinyl. We hope to get our album out on vinyl soon.”
While The Willows aren’t sisters they almost could be for the deep bond that has helped carry them this far. They first met in ballet school here at age nine and all wound up moving to Toronto to study dance at Ryerson University. They found out they made a terrific vocal trio back in 2010 when a spontaneous dare led them to sing a number from the musical Jersey Boys in front of their classmates and they discovered their own vocal harmonies by accident.
By the time the singers graduated with their BFA dance degrees from Ryerson in 2012 they had already made their first public performance at an open mic night in a Toronto club, The Supermarket. It didn’t take long for a following to develop. They became The Willows and found themselves winning over crowds from clubs in Toronto to places like the Jasper Park Lodge back in Alberta. It didn’t hurt that they added a few synchronized dance moves to their performances along with the songs, but singing was already overshadowing their ambitions in dance.
In the beginning they sang covers of material they happened to like — James Taylor was one favourite — but feedback helped sharpen their repertoire.
“People would come up to us after the show and say ‘you should sing this song by The Andrews Sisters’ and that steered us in our current direction,” explains Gregorio. “There were inspirations from all over and even though you might not hear someone like James Taylor coming through now, there were things in his performances that stayed with what we’ve built as a group.”
She allows that they have their own Andrews Sisters faves too, like Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.
“It’s easy to think of them because it’s three voices, three women, and three-part harmonies give our sound that retro feel so they were definitely a source of inspiration from the beginning, but we’re not just a tribute act. We’ve tried to balance out the harmonies and melodies and find a current feel.”
Planning for the album began about three years ago. Pedersen has been the chief songwriter but they have a great set of players behind them starting with ex-Edmonton bassist George Koller and drummer Ben Riley. Producer Chris Graham oversaw tunes that sometimes feature a dozen musicians but the vocals are always upfront.
“We always knew we wanted to have a live, big-band kind of feel,” Pedersen explains, “and meeting George Koller, such a great musician, really helped us connect with a lot of people in Toronto’s jazz community.”
If The Willows’ voices are their obvious strength, Pedersen’s writing and arranging really uses the resources, melodic and vocal hooks that could leave you humming long after the album is finished. Most tunes talk about relationships but the writer brings herself into song themes even evoking childhood fairy tales on the tune Wishing Well, but doing it with a mature sense of how to frame it.
“I think the music represents Lauren incredibly well,” says Gregorio. “There’s a positivity that comes out of these songs and people tell us that it’s so uplifting.”
“We have so much fun together and we love to share that, but I think Lauren and Chris together really took our sound and expanded it to that jazz-pop world,” Deady feels. “It was great to have the full band their for our release in Toronto.”
Costs preclude taking everyone on tour but The Willows have got a backing trio from Edmonton for most of their tour, guitarist Ethan Tonack, bassist Sascha Liebrand and drummer Eli Browning.
“We’ve always wanted to show off our own sound,” says Pedersen. “Even though we’ve been together for a while now, finally getting this album out their feels like the end of the beginning.”
The Willows perform at Cafe Blackbird (9640 142 St.) 7 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are $15 (cafeblackbird.ca or 780-451-8890). They will also be back for their annual Christmas benefit at St. Andrews Church Dec. 21.
BLUES WINNERS MEMPHIS BOUND
It’s official. The Edmonton Blues Society is sending the Dylan Farrell Band, winner best band, and Joe Nolan, winner best solo or duo, to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn., in January. Winner of the best locally produced CD was Boogie Patrol’s Man On Fire.
To help raise funds for the trip last year’s winners, Boogie Patrol and Jennie Thai, are on the bill Nov. 4 when the EBS hosts a pay-it-forward event at the German Canadian Club (8310 Roper Road). Tickets are $20 in advance from Acoustic Music, Blackbyrd Myoozik, Mykhre’s Music, or St. John’s Music. For more details see edmontonbluessociety.net